The Delay

I understand that many people have been waiting for me to update this blog, but it has been nearly impossible for me to access the internet for a long period of time here. There was this one moment when I could connect for just enough time to check my emails, but that was it. So sorry for the delay, especially to those who have been worried sick about me.

Currently I am sitting in the office of a building managed by CAFOD, a Catholic relief service, because this is where we found good internet connection they were willing to give us for free. Even though it is only a block away from our compound, we drove here to avoid the thundering rain. You have no idea how excited George, Emma, and I are to receive internet right now, especially since we did not get SIM cards for our phones until today and it has been 5 days since we last posted. Because it has been so long and so many events have happened, I am bound to forget many of the beginning details of this trip. But I will try to recount as much as possible, and I will update the last post if I happen to remember something important. The sentences on my blog may seem chopped up due to this...

Sunday, June 1:
I left for New York early in the morning and said my last goodbyes to my parents. I started to feel sick in my stomach after they left, finally recognizing that I was leaving them for 2 months in what many people consider as currently one of the most dangerous place in the world. By the end of my 5 hour trip, my headache reminded me about how much I hated flying. New York city was surprisingly much hotter than LA, and I was mildly sweating as I lugged my luggage out of JFK. Neil, my cousin, picked me up from the airport and I saw Sheetal in the same car. It was the first time I ever saw her in New York, and it felt strange. However, she was departing from JFK coincidentally that same day, so we dropped her off. We took a service car to reach Edmond Resor's house on 90th street.
Edmund (Ed) Resor is George's father, and he was the one responsible for setting up this internship for us so that we can help with the Diocese of Torit in Sudan. Here is a site where you can read about him--http://www.zoominfo.com/people/Resor_Ed_226528235.aspx. He is setting out to prove Bill Gates wrong, who stated that computers cannot help people who are living on a dollar a day. He may be biased because he works in this sector, but after being here in Sudan and talking with the volunteers of the Diocese of Torit, I can definitely see the internet as key to accessing easy information about health. Ed is coming with us for the first month of the trip to get our team settled, especially since he has been to the Sudan and knows many of the people there as a previous volunteer for Save the Children and for the Diocese of Torit.
Anyways, I went to his house to drop off my biggest luggage so that I would not have to carry it with me during the busy morning rush of the subway. There I met George, who is a sophomore at Yale University and Anne-Marie, the wife of Ed. Their house was very old-fashioned and had a sense of Victorian age to it, I guess. All I can tell you is that it is very different from a typical Californian home, which is much more broad and horizontal, whereas New York homes (or townhouses) are set up vertically and more narrow. But the place was very nice, and on the way getting there I learned about the grid street system of NYC.
My cousin's apartment was located on 10th street, which is much further south. Along the way, we picked up my brother Sohil on Times Square. He was here coincidentally for his old college roommate's wedding. It is a different feel coming to New York for an obligation rather than for tourism. I had last been in New York during the summer of 2001, but Times Square this time felt like the Las Vegas strip I had to zip by to get to my destination. But this was good because I got to see New York's residential, less "touristy", side. We arrived at Neil's place, which is a one bedroom apartment he pays for $2700/month. And I complain about my rent at Berkeley! It was very old-style, but quaint and nice. We relaxed there until we decided to get dinner at the Thai restaurant, Klong's, where we waited to meet my other cousin brother, Samir from New Jersey. He is a third year medical student, but I had never met him in my life until then. I like him; he is a funny guy. We then went to La Lanterna, which is known for its desserts, and Samir left after.

Monday, June 2:
I woke up at 5:44 AM because the apartment was bright and sunny that early in the morning, perhaps because it is in a high-rise building. Neil took my brother and I around the city and on the small streets to get to the subway. We walked along the L line and then went down to reach the B? line (I don't remember) to get to upper Manhattan. Boy was that subway busy during the Monday morning! People were packed like sardines in the trains! Anyways, we got to Ed's place and I met Mary-Liz Huber finally, his kind secretary.

Right now we have to go, so I cannot finish this yet. I can't believe how long this is taking for one day, but for more information, go to Emma Ensign's site ekensign.blogspot.com. I probably need to cut down on my entries, or resort to writing on word (even though I can't think as well), to finish on time. bye!

-Neesha